1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that is connected to another device, and a method therefor.
2. Related Background Art
In order to execute various processes in an environment wherein a plurality of devices are available, usually a user selects a suitable device for each process, and then instructs the selected devices to execute the corresponding processes.
For example, when information prepared by a computer, or information read by a scanner is to be transmitted in a printed form to a person at a remote location, a printer belonging to the person connected via a network is designated and printing can be performed by the designated printer.
However, according to the conventional technique, when a process that is instructed can not be performed at all, or is performed incompletely because a selected device malfunctions, or does not process the required functions, the process assigned to the device can not attain the objective of the user.
To resolve this problem, the user must confirm the results of the processing and must send an instruction to another device to perform the same process or an additional process.
Even when there is a more suitable device than the device selected by a user to attain the processing objective, only the device that is selected by the user can handle the processing.
Furthermore, some processes are required only for a specific user, and their performance may be unnecessary or inappropriate for a current user.